Chelsea are considering making another move for Marseille striker Loic Remy in January as a possible replacement for Daniel Sturridge.

The club are prepared to sell the England international in the next transfer window but will only let him leave Stamford Bridge if they are able to bring another forward in.

Chelsea came close to signing Remy in August only for Sturridge’s move to Liverpool to break down because he wanted the deal to be permanent rather than a loan move.

Remy is seen as a more realistic target than Colombia striker Radamel Falcao, who has a £46million release clause in his Atletico Madrid contract.

Atletico insist they will not listen to offers for the prolific 26-year-old this season, despite the financial difficulties they are experiencing.

Falcao has helped fire Atletico to second place in La Liga and they only trail Barcelona on goal difference.

The constant speculation linking Falcao with a move to Chelsea or Manchester City — as well as local rivals Real — has angered Atletico president Enrique Cerezo.

Speaking to reporters in Spain, he said: “I’m not rude but I’m really angry. Everything in life has a limit. I don’t know his future but if you know it you can tell him.

“I can’t stand to hear this rumour anymore. I can only say that Falcao now plays for Atletico Madrid.”

The need for Chelsea to buy another striker before letting Sturridge leave is vital as he is currently the only back-up to Fernando Torres in the Chelsea squad. The Blues have a good relationship with Marseille having agreed a £7m deal for right-back Cesar Azpilicueta in the summer and are confident they can sign Remy for around £15m, which is also the fee they are looking to sell Sturridge for.

Remy is a similar player to the 23-year-old, who joined Chelsea from Manchester City for £6.5m in 2009, as he can play on the right wing as well as up front.

The former Lyon and Nice front man scored 20 goals and made six assists in the French League last season and Chelsea have already sent scouts to watch him in action again this term.

Chelsea also remain huge admirers of Bayer Leverkusen’s Andre Schurrle but the German club are adamant that he is not for sale.

Sturridge should attract plenty of interest having impressed enough at Stamford Bridge to win his first England cap last season.

The former City trainee told Standard Sport in May that he was not sure he had a future at Stamford Bridge and now appears resigned to leaving the club this winter.

He has played less first-team football since Roberto Di Matteo replaced Andre Villas-Boas as coach in March, although a hamstring injury has kept him out for the past month and explains why he has managed only 54 minutes of action so far this season.

However, Sturridge privately feels he may have to leave Chelsea in order to improve his chances of playing more regularly, as well as forcing his way back into the England squad having missed out on last summer’s European Championships in Poland and Ukraine.

Liverpool are expected to make another bid for his services while Tottenham considered making an offer in the summer.

There is also speculation that he could move to Arsenal with Theo Walcott, whose contract runs out in the summer, moving the other way.

For the time being, Sturridge is focused on proving his fitness ahead of the London derby at White Hart Lane on Saturday.

He has been at the club’s Cobham training base throughout the international break and is hoping to be named in the Chelsea squad for the lunchtime kick-off.

Midfielder Frank Lampard is in a race against time to show he has recovered from the calf problem which ruled him out of England’s World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Poland.

Di Matteo is hopeful the 34-year-old will be available although Standard Sport understands it is too early to tell whether he will be able to feature.

As things stand, Ryan Bertrand, who also pulled out of the England squad due to a virus, is another doubt as he is still feeling the effects of his illness and hasn’t been training for the past week.